APRNEWS - West African leaders and European ministers are in Accra, the capital of Ghana, to discuss regional solutions to the insurgency that is spreading as foreign troops withdraw from Mali, where militants have seized large swaths of territory.

France, Denmark and Ivory Coast are among the countries that ended their military cooperation with Mali this year due to the ruling junta's cooperation with Russian mercenaries.

Mali, where the West African insurgency took root in 2012, has been at odds with regional governments, Western powers and a United Nations peacekeeping mission since the military government that took over power in a coup in August 2020 did not hold the promised elections.

Collaboration with Russia and alleged military abuses have heightened tensions.

There are fears that Mali's military withdrawals could create a security vacuum in a region where groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have already branched out to Mali's neighbors and settled in coastal states south of the Sahel.

"Today, terrorist groups, emboldened by their success in these regions, are seeking new ground," Akufo-Addo said on day two of the Accra Initiative security conference.

"The worsening situation...threatens to engulf the entire West African region," he added.

Attacks have increased over the past decade despite efforts to combat insurgents. The violence has killed thousands and displaced more than 2.7 million across the Sahel, according to the UN.

Conflicts and climatic shocks have also created a food crisis in the region.

More than 30 million people in the Sahel will need life-saving assistance and protection in 2022, nearly two million more than the previous year, the UN said in June.

Coastal states like Benin and Togo, meanwhile, have seen an increase in attacks in recent years, prompting talk of Western aid to stem the insurgency's southward spread.

"The risk of contagion in coastal states is no longer a risk, it's a reality," said European Council President Charles Michel.

"We all need to identify the best way to have an impact on the ground," he said, adding that EU support to the region included "lethal equipment for defensive purposes."

Source : Reuters